Safety snap for clevis hooks



- March 7 .1. B. BAMBENEK TA 3,501,817

SAFETY SNAP FOR CLEVIS HOOKS Filed Feb. 23, 1968 INVENTORS. JOSEPH .B. BAMBENEK GEORGE E. MALOTKE ARTHUR .E'. STOKKE s T1HAN .3. SA 0 owsx/ A TTORNEYS 3,501,817 SAFETY SNAP FOR CLEVIS HOOKS Joseph B. Bambenek, George Malotke, Stephan E.

Sadowski, and Arthur E. Stokke, Winona, Minn., as-

signors to Peerless Chain Company, Winona, Minn,

a corporation of Minnesota Filed Feb. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 707,838 Int. Cl. B66c 1/36 U.S. Cl. 24-233 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A safety snap for clevis hooks including integral means for mounting the snap on the clevis portion of a clevis hook to prevent accidental disengagement of the hook from a hook-engaged member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Clevis hooks in themselves are well-known, as are hooks of other types having safety snaps. These latter hooks are forged or otherwise fabricated to provide anchoring means for the safety snaps. As far as known, no safety snap has been hitherto produced that can be applied to clevis hooks not having built in provision for such a safety snap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of this invention is the provision of a safety snap which can be quickly and easily mounted on existing clevis equipped hooks. To this end we provide a one-piece resilient snap having means at one end for mounting the same on the transversely extending removable clevis pin of a clevis hook, and engaging an adjacent portion of the hook, whereby the snap extends angularly across the mouth of the hook and has its opposite end yieldingly urged toward engagement with the free end portion of the hook. Of the several embodiments shown in the drawings, and hereinafter described, some thereof are rotatable on the axis of the clevis pin for easy insertion and removal of the member to be engaged by the hook and having means for releasably holding the same against rotation, and another is disposed to be held against such rotation and to operate in the usual manner of present day safety snaps.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a clevis hook having a preferred embodiment of safety snap mounted thereon, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a view in front elevation of the hook and safety snap of FIG. 1, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively but showing a modified form of safety snap;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively, but showing a further modification; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively but showing a still further modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, a conventional clevis hook I is shown as comprising a shank portion 2 and a free end portion 3 disposed in a common plane, defining an opening 4 for reception of a chain, cable or any element, not shown, desired to 3,501,817 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 "ice be engaged by the hook 1. The upper end of the shank 2 is formed to provide a pair of laterally spaced parallel lugs 5 having aligned opening therethrough for reception of a clevis pin 6 having an enlarged head 7 at one end and a transverse opening therethrough adjacent its opposite end for reception of a cotter pin or the like 8. The axis of said aligned openings is disposed in said common plane. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional washer 9 is mounted on the clevis pin 6 intermediate the adjacent lug 5 and the cotter pin 8. As stated, the hook 1 is of well known and conventional form, the lugs 5 and pin 6 cooperating to provide a clevis for connection to a hoisting or supporting cable or chain, not shown.

The safety snap of FIGS. 1-3 is indicated generally at 10 and is formed from resilient sheet stock such as spring steel, and comprises a resilient member 11 having an enlarged fiat head portion 12 at its upper end providing mounting means for the snap 10. The enlarged end portion 12 is drilled or pierced to provide an opening 13 for rece tion of the clevis pin 6. When the snap 10 is mounted on the hook 1, the enlarged end portion 12 is disposed between the head 7 of the clevis pin 6 and the adjacent lug 5, the resilient member 11 extending angularly downwardly therefrom across the mount 14 of the hook opening 4. The resilient member 11 is bent, as at 15 and 16 so that, when the end portion 12 is snugly held between the clevis pin 7 and the adjacent lug 5, the free end 17 of the resilient member 11 is yieldingly urged into engagement with the end portion 3 of the hook I. Adjacent its free end 17, the resilient member 16 is formed to provide a pair of laterally spaced flanges 18 which cooperate with the adjacent free end 17 to form a laterally outwardly opening recess 19 in which the free end portion 3 of the hook I is normally received.

When it is desired to engage a chain, cable or other device with the hook 1, the snap 10 is pressed laterally inwardly from' its full line position to its dotted line position of FIG. 1, after which the snap 10 is rotated on the axis of the clevis pin 6 to its dotted line position of FIG. 2, thus opening the mouth 14 for reception of the article to be engaged into the mount 4 of the hook 1. Thereafter, the snap 10 is rotated to its full line position of FIG. 2 and its dotted line position of FIG. 1, and permitted to move laterally outwardly into engagement with the free end portion 3 of the hook 1. With the snap 10 thus positioned the article engaged by the hook is positively limited against movement outwardly through the mouth 14 of the hook. The pierced fiat upper end portion 12 of the snap 10 provides for a quick and easy mounting on any clevis hook of the type above described, in present use, requiring no change in the design of the hook or clevis portion thereof for mounting of the safety snap pin.

The clevis hooks illustrated in FIGS. 4-9 are identical in construction with the clevis hook I, and the parts thereof are identified by the same reference numerals. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a safety snap 20 is shown as being formed from a length of resilient wire, bent intermediate its ends to provide laterally outwardly diverging portions 21 which define a generally V-shaped notch 22, and a pair of laterally spaced generally parallel legs 23 that are adapted to extend angularly across the mouth 14 of the hook I.

The opposite ends of the wire are bent to provide a pair of concentric loops 24 at the upper ends of the legs 23, the loops 24 being adapted to encompass the clevis pin 6 between the head 7 thereof and the adjacent lug 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the legs 23 are bent, as at 25, so that the legs 23 are yieldingly urged toward engagement of the free end portion 3 of the hook I with the notch 22 defined by the outwardly diverging portions 21, when the loops 24 are snugly disposed between the clevis pin head 7 and the adjacent l-ug 5. The safety snap 20 operates in a manner identical to that of the safety snap 10, as shown by full and dotted lines in FIGS. 4 and 5, to releasably lock an article in the opening 4 of the hook 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the clevis pin 6 is turned end for end and having its transverse opening, indicated at 26, disposed upwardly of the mouth 14 of the hook 1. The safety snap illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, indicated generally at 27, is similar to the safety snap 20 of FIGS. 4 and 5, having laterally outwardly diverging portions 28 which define a generally V-shaped notch 29, and a pair of upwardly extending legs 30. At their upper ends, the legs 3t) are inturned or bent to provide end portions 31 that are inserted through the clevis pin opening 26 in opposite directions so as to be disposed in overlapping relationship within the clevis pin opening 26. Below the inturned end portions 31, the legs 30 are bent, as indicated at 32 in FIG. 6, so that the diverging portions 28 are yieldingly urged toward reception of the hook end portion 3 in the notch 29. The safety snap 27 operates in the same manner as the snaps 10 and 20, as shown by full and dotted lines in FIGS. 6 and 7. It will be noted that, when the safety snap 27 is rotated between its full and dotted line positions of FIG. 7, the clevis pin 6 will rotate in the lugs in common with the safety snap 27. This is not necessarily true with the clevis pins 6, shown in FIGS. 1 5, wherein it is immaterial whether or not the clevis pins 6 rotate in their respective lugs 5.

The safety snap illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 and indicated generally at 33, is stamped or otherwise formed from a single piece of sheet stock to provide an enlarged flat head portion 34 and a depending tongue 35 of substantially less width than the head portion 34. The head portion 34 is provided with an opening 36 for reception of the clevis pin 6, and is adapted to lie flat against the adjacent clevis forming lug 5, being held snugly in place in the same manner as the safety snaps and 20. The tongue portion 35 is yieldingly urged into engagement with the free end portion 3 of the hook I, as shown by full lines in FIG. 8. The enlarged portion 34 is formed to provide an anchoring tab 37 which overlies and has hooking engagement with the top portion of the adjacent lug 5, and the tongue portion 35 is formed to provide a pair of laterally spaced tabs 38 that project laterally inwardly at opposite sides of the hook shank portion 2, to hold the tongue portion 35 in substantial alignment or registration with the free end portion 3 of the hook 1, preventing rotation of the snap 33 on the axis of the clevis pin 6. As shown by full and dotted lines in FIG. 8, the snap 33 operates in the manner of a conventional safety snap, the tongue 35 having suflicient resiliency to enable the same to be pressed substantially into parallel engagement with the shank 2 to permit insertion or removal of an article into the hook opening 4.

The several forms of safety snaps above-described can be easily and inexpensively produced, and quickly and easily applied to clevis hooks at any time during their use.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety snap for a clevis equipped hook having a shank and a free end portion cooperating with the shank to define the mouth of the hook, said shank and free end portion being disposed in a common plane, the clevis of said hook comprising a pair of spaced parallel lugs extending upwardly from the shank above said mouth, said lugs having aligned openings therethrough on an axis extending in said plane, and a headed pin extending through said openings, said safety snap comprising an elongated flexible resilient member having mounting means on one end portion for mounting on said pin and positioned to extend therefrom angularly downwardly across the mouth of the hook, said member having its opposite end in engagement with the free end portion of the hook within the mouth thereof, said member being formed so that a portion thereof engages said pin and one of the clevis lugs adjacent the pin in a manner to yieldingly urge said opposite end toward engagement with the free end portion of the hook, said member in engagement with said free end portion providing a barrier positively limiting an article within said hook against movement outwardly through the mouth thereof.

2. The safety snap defined in claim 1, in which said opposite end of the resilient member is formed to provide a transversely outwardly opening recess for at least partial reception therein of said free end portion of the hook.

3. The safety snap defined in claim 2, in which said mounting means is disposed relative to said hook when the safety snap is mounted thereon so that said resilient member is rotatable relative to the hook on the axis of said clevis pin, when said resilient member is moved transversely inwardly to disengage the hook free end portion from said recess.

4. The safety snap defined in claim 3, in which said safety snap is formed from flat resilient metal, said mounting means comprising a flat portion having an opening therethrough for reception of said clevis pin and adapted to be disposed between the head of said pin and the adjacent one of said lugs, said resilient member being angularly displaced from said flat portion thereof to extend across the mouth of said hook.

5. The safety snap defined in claim 4, in which said resilient member is formed to provide a pair of laterally spaced flanges adjacent said opposite end and cooperating with said resilient member to define said recess.

6. The safety snap defined in claim 2, in which said safety snap comprises a length of resilient wire formed intermediate its ends to provide a generally V-shaped notch defining said recess, and a pair of laterally spaced legs, the ends of said wire being bent to define a pair of concentric loops for axial alignment with said aligned openings and for reception of said clevis pin.

7. The safety snap defined in claim 2, in which said snap comprises a length of resilient wire formed intermediate its ends to provide a generally V-shaped notch defining said recess, and a pair of laterally spaced legs, the endsof said wire being bent into overlapping relationship transversely of said legs for insertion in opposite directions through a transverse opening in said clevis pin.

8. The safety snap defined in claim 1, in which said mounting means comprises a flat portion having an opening therethrough for reception of said clevis pin and adapted to be disposed between the head of said pin and the adjacent one of said lugs, said resilient member being angularly displaced from said flat portion to extend across the mouth of said hook, characterized by a plurality of spaced ears projecting transversely of said flat portion for engagement with spaced portions of said hook to hold said safety snap against rotation on the axis of said opening and relative to said hook.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner Us. :1. X,R, 24-236; 294-sz 

